New Pediatric Vaccine Schedule from AAP

Guidelines allow for third dose of mumps vaccine

A newly recommended 2018 immunization schedule from the American Academy of Pediatrics provides doctors with the options of offering a third dose of mumps vaccine during an outbreak.

With cases of mumps on the rise in the United States since 2006, the new ruling was clarified ahead of the release of the 2018 immunization schedule.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) two doses of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine effectively prevents the mumps—but the protection can decline over time.

“There are specific windows of time when vaccines work the best to protect a child, said Cody Meissner, MD, an author of the statement, “and the schedule is designed to maximize these opportunities.”

Additional recommendations included an annual flu vaccine for all children six months of age and older, as well as recommendations pertinent to the controversial human papillomavirus (HPV) in both girls and boys.

Children ages 11-12 should receive two doses of the HPV vaccine, according to the release, while those over 15 should receive an additional dose for a total of three.

The full statement was published in the February edition of Pediatrics.